What Happens Next
by ilovemyflute1
Summary: Oh the many pains that comes with losing a child. Hype wonders if she will ever be the same again, she knows there is no way she can go back to the regular person she was before. Now through losing her child, she becomes more mature and vows to never touch a bottle of whiskey and Davey always questions how much liquor he puts in his mouth.
1. Chapter 1: Depression

"Just because you promised, doesn't mean you promised on the first try," Ike says. This calms me down as three months ago, Stefanzo died. The celebration was one of life, though a miscarriage. Ike and I now have a tradition to leave Lucy at a friend's while Ike and I put a rose on Stefazno's grave every week. _We have to get back to work_, I think. This snaps me back to reality.

"Star," I scream, "a bee!"

"A bee" Star screams, she randomly tries to bat the bee away. Bad idea, the entire swarm comes out from under the dock. We instantly flee, not caring how many times our feet hurt today.

"Fudge," I scream. "We are under attack" The whole dock is mayhem, people fled as soon as I scream a bee. _That's me attracting attention, _I think. I laugh when we have to flee. Star, Lucy and I reach the café in time to hear a bunch of bees slam into the windows. We start laughing like we are really drunk. In which I kind of was. I wonder how Davey is functioning,

"I can't believe it's been three months since he has touched a wine bottle" Star says. _It's because of me,_ I think,_ because he knows I lost Stefanzo to it. _

"Me neither," I say, Star quickly apologies because she knows how sad I get when someone mentions liquor. But, I still like to go to the bar; I just have to be strong, really, really strong. Mike's playing always gets my mind of the liquor for a short time, and he knows this and always plays happy songs when he sees me.

In a few hours, the bees are all gone, but the dock is deserted. It now looks like it was going to storm, good thing we only have six papes left, we sold them to the Café employees. I start crying randomly and only Star knows why.

"I'm sorry," I say, "just thinking about…." I trail off.

"Don't be, it's only been a short time, he will always live in your memories." She says.

"One word: depression" I say.

"Five words: your name is Hype," she replies, "We only gave you that name because you were so happy, and you were hyper.

"Yea, when I was like twelve," I say. It's been over ten years, and it's only been since Stefazno's death I've been depressed.

"We may need to change your name then." She smiles. This only reminds me of the time Sam never called me Hype in Santa Fe, he still doesn't just to tick me off and confuse me. I frown at her remark. _Because I've been through so much, _I think, Star knows this, she knows everything about me.

"I'm going to talk to Sketch about it; she has been through it too." I say.

"Fine by me, see you tomorrow," Star says.

"Bye," I say, hugging her.

After dinner, Sketch comes and Ike goes to the bar,

"To hear his playing," he says, he has been to the bar very rarely since Stefanzo.

"It's okay Hype, this is natural, and you'll get over it soon and realize this is what love is. You keep telling Ike love isn't everything you want but it is everything you need," Sketch says in a gentle tone. Tonight I actually realized what this meant.

"Thank you," I whisper, she hugs me.

"It is going to be okay, and if you ever need help, you know you can come to me day or night." Sketch says.

"I know," I say as she goes to the door. I quickly go to change Lucy as Sketch leaves.

"I got to go, Davey is watching Evan" she giggles. "Oh well, boys will be boys, no matter what."

I laugh as I feed Lucy one last time before bed. _Well, this is it,_ I think as I lay my head against the wall. _This is what I get for falling in love with the world, but I guess some things just never last. My universe is officially crumbling; I don't think I can survive. My friends need to lie to me sometimes, because the truth can really hurt. _This makes me feel better._ Is this what it takes to separate the raving from the purpose, measured by success and not the motives of our heart?_ I ask myself. _T_he many questions I think of during the night. _I am so creative,_ I think as I drift to sleep.


	2. Chapter 2: Traditions

Today was the day of the week Ike, Lucy and I went up to Stefazno's grave. Lucy, not knowing it was her brother's smiled happily as we walked to the grave. _We have to be strong, _I think, for Lucy. I was right, she couldn't see our tears. We sigh as we approach the grave; Ike lays down his rose first, a wine colored rose, to symbolize death. Next, I lay down a white rose with blue tips, white symbolizing innocence, and the blue representing Stefazno's gender. Lucy happily puts down a pink rose, symbolizing the love for the dead. I hide my tears as she lay it down, she does it so delicately. I hide my tears as Ike picks her up and we walk down the hill. When we get home, Ike puts her in her playpen, along with her pale pink bunny she got when she turned two. Ike has become flirtatious as the day progresses, touching me every chance he gets. Surprisingly he isn't drunk. In fact, I haven't seen him pick up a wine glass since the death of his baby boy. But what he does at the bar is his business. Ike comes in and sits next to me on the bed.

"Hey baby," he whispers, he holds my hand as I turn away.

"Baby," he coaxes, he slips into his baby voice he uses with Lucy.

"Icky just wants to know." He says, I smile, and when he talks to Lucy he says his name is icky, weird right? I face him with tears in my eyes.

"We will have to Tell Lucy about the death sometime," I say as the first tear sides down. Ike stops being flirtatious and becomes sweeter.

"I know," he whispers, "but we don't have to tell her until we are ready." Ike whispers.

"Stay in bed, I'll be right back," he says, "I'll be back soon." I smile; he always has something up his sleeve. I must have fallen asleep as Ike kisses me awake. He has silk flowers and ribbons sprawled next to him. He sits beside me and gently combs my hair. He starts to braid it, weaving in the flowers and ribbon. This is like what he did the first month of Stefazno's death. I remember it like it was yesterday.

I sit on the dock in silence, thinking about my baby in his grave. _It hurts, _I think, _and it always will. _I scarred my friends not saying anything, only whispering to Lucy when I was sure Ike wasn't around. Every day, I went down to the dock, listening to the water crash beneath my feet. Nothing broke my train of thought. Every day, Ike came with ribbons and silk flowers, braiding my hair. We sit in silence from dusk to dawn. Sketch watches Lucy all day, she knows what we are going through, but I do admit I'm scarred, because of Davey's drinking problem. Usually when I come home late, Ike leaves a note on what Lucy does that day. Learning a new word, or petting a dog. It makes me smile; too bad no one sees it. The first thing I say at the end of the month was special.

"Ike," I say, still holding my gaze on the water. "I love you." Ike puts his arm around me and kisses my cheek. He always knew I was still there_. Ike never gave up on me_, I thought, _even when I needed him most; in the most desperate time of my life._ That night, he rowed us out in the water again. We watch the sunset as it kisses away the pain.


	3. Chapter 3: Girl's Night Out

"Do we have a plan?" Butta Fingas asks.

I laugh, "It's a girl's night, we don't need a plan, and we just need a plan to have fun."

"Well," she smiles timidly, "Can we get drunk?"

"Well we could go to the bar so you could stare at Mike and melt at his piano playing." Star smiles. Butta Fingas hides her face in a pillow, knowing she will walk down the aisle soon. I laugh and Star smiles sweetly; she cocks her head to one side, like a puppy.

"We could go to the café." I say, "Sketch, you could leave Evan with Lucy and Ike; they are going to the cinemas. "Gosh, I hope they don't run into the Delancys, Geez."

"We could hang out on the harbor, talk about random stuff, like I don't know, current things in our life." Sketch says. The mention of talking about our lives makes Butta Fingas cringe. She is scarred about walking down the aisle, like, scarred out or her skirt scarred.

"We could go to Central Park," suggest Smalls. We love the idea and finally found the order we want to do this in. It feels like a perfect night, to dress up and make fun of past crushes. This calms Butta Fingas as we walk around the park. Sketch screams as Davey leaps out of a tree, it's a regular thing now, it has to be.

"Hey girls," he says. "What are you guys up too?"

Sketch tells him Evan is with Ike, and he wishes us luck as he kisses Sketch. We make our way to the bar first. Mike watches Butta Fingas during every slow song he plays. She easily melts like butter, hence her name. We leave the bar after a while and go to the café for dinner. We eat a dinner of chicken and salad, drizzled with lemon juice. We drank sweet tea and lemonade with the little umbrella picks. We then sit on the dock with our feet over the side, the warm water splashing over our toes. It was cloud nine, considering it was less than forty degrees. We talk about many subjects, limes, Butta Fingas wedding and Star and Blink's flirtatious relationship. Star bushes, as she brings up the memories form three weeks ago. We were so glad we got to do this; it was a perfect night, just a bit cold. We go back to the café for hot cocoa. Warm and sweet, it was the second time Butta Fingas melted tonight, she blushes a lot. She can't even think straight, because she is thinking about her wedding. We all know this, how could someone not know? In no time, we are back at my apartment, still sipping our mugs of cocoa. Ike, Evan and Lucy come back thirty minutes later from the cinema.

"The tickets were really cheap," he says. We all get this look and in ten minutes we are out the door. We head to the nearest theater and pay in an instant. Ike was right, only three cents a ticket. After the movie, we go to an ice cream shop and drown in ice cream even though it is freezing outside, _better to do it in ice cream then beer, I_ think. The rest of the night was pretty chilly; we had so much fun at the harbor and the movies. We saw the Delancys' a few times in a hat stores. We busted out laughing when Morris puts one on and it barely fits. He must have seen us because he wields his fist at us in a joking matter. Not one time tonight we had any doubts or regrets. _It's a great way to live_, I think.


	4. Chapter 4: This Might Hurt

"Why don't you come over then, I mean, Davey and I are going to the café and bar later for a date, but they are so much more fun with friends," Says Sketch.

"Like I have a choice," I mumble. _Girl's night was awesome, what's wrong with me now? Oh wait, I know, it is Stefanzo_, I think. Just this morning Ike, Lucy and I went up to his grave to place flowers.

"I was just trying to help." She says, offended.

"I know, I'm sorry, I just…"I trailed off in thought.

"Davey will tell Ike, I'm leaving Evan with Butta Fingas, so I am sure she will accept Lucy too. We will come over tonight and pick you up." She smiles.

"Thank you so much," I say. I hug her because she starts looking really concerned.

"I wonder if Davey will control his drinking." She says grimly. "I am really scarred that he will turn us again. I don't want another intervention."

"I know, I am really sorry about the last one," I say, thinking about that night. I dropped shot glasses full of liquor in front of him just to make him mad. My only motive was: He hurt all of us. He cussed me out, threw Sketch against a wall and tensions were higher ever before with him and the Delancys'.

"It's fine, we made up for it happily, but still, I admit I'm still a little shaken." Sketch says. "But, he is as nice as he was before."

"It will be fine; we just have to monitor him." I say.

"And not let you slip into depression again, you really scarred us the month after Stefazno's death. You know, because your name is Hype and that month, you barely spoke." Sketch says.

"That was a scary month for me to, but I am so happy I did it, I got to think through a lot of thing." I say. "But I am really sorry I didn't speak, I just couldn't think of what to say. Lucy won't remember it at all and Ike went to bed before I got home almost every night.

Hours pass by as I am curled up asleep on the bed. With all my depression, I don't think dying will be a bad thing, I don't think anyone will miss me, besides my family and the newsies. _I'm just so tired of life_, I thought._ This can't get any worse. I will tell Sketch about it later_. _You do only get one life,_ I think,_ but then again, what do I have to live for? My baby boy is in Heaven and there is nothing I can do about it but go to._ In no time, Davey and Sketch are at our doorstep. Ike was taking Lucy to Butta Fingas.

"It's okay, we will wait." Sketch says and Davey nods in agreement. I let them in and tell them about the tradition of placing the roses on Stefazno's grave. They take a few minutes to soak all of this in. I also tell Sketch private, my thoughts on suicide. This takes her aback and makes her really scarred.

"It's not so bad," I say, "My baby boy is in Heaven and he is still a part of the family. Wherever he goes, I want to too."

"You can't" she protests. "We all love you," she says. "Everyone will miss you, Hype. But if this is what you want and I am here to support you. I don't understand why you want this, but I am going to try everything I can to get you to rethink this because you mean the world to me, your apart of my family."

Ike then comes to the door and we scramble out as he locks the door.

"Lucy and Evan will be at Butta Fingas for the night, we need to get them by ten, and Mike needs to go to work at that time." He says. We are off to the bar as the boys pick up Sketch and I bridal style. Ike rarely does this, and he must know I am feeling down. We eat intensely because Sketch knows what is going on and Davey orders a beer.

"It's only one bottle" he says.

"That could end your life." Sketch replies and immediately apologizes to me, Davey then looks at Ike and changes his mind about his beer. _They know,_ I think._ I remember because I said it at the funeral. I lost him due to liquor._ I sit in silence for a few minutes as the memory comes back, it makes me go white.

"I'm going to the ladies room. Sketch comes with me" I say, she immediately reacts. She follows me into the restroom and explodes crying.

"See," I scream. "This is why I want to die, I get all of these memories that pop into my head at random times and I hate it so much!"

"Calm down, please," she uses her gentlest tone. "I know you are still really upset about the miscarriage and I understand, I have been there too." She says. "Davey thought it would be okay if he got a beer, but I guess…." She trails off. We have been in the bathroom for a while.

"So much for a double date, I am sorry." I say, having tears fill the lining of my eyes.

"It is fine; I just didn't know it would happen like this, I just don't want you to die. If I knew this would happen, I would have asked you to come. I don't want you to be hurting after so much…" she says.

"I gotta go home, I need to see my baby boy." I say. I swing the door open to see Davey got another water Sketch winces, she knows what may happen next, she knows and it scares her. I walk past our table wiping tears from my eyes.

"Hype," Davey starts, Ike chases me down, I only run faster and Ike catches me by the arm and pulls me close.

"My baby is calling," I say. I struggle out of his grasp, crying as my freezing tears splatter on the ground. I run faster, this time Davey catch me.

"You can't do this." He yells at me.

"Why not?" I retort. "My baby needs me."

Ike and Sketch catches up.

"Hype, you can't do this." Sketch says, catching her breath. "We love you."

"I love my baby too." I say. I stop crying as they hold me in a firm grip. Davey is really strong when he isn't drunk. Ike is really calm to me. I glare at Sketch as she tells Davey and Ike about my thought.

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO TELL." I scream. "SEE, THIS IS WHY I WASN'T TO DIE."

I get free and race to the hill where the Stefanzo lays. I collapse over the headstone, crying my eyes out. Ike, Sketch and Davey catch up again. They see me crying, Ike hums a song I know well. It calms me down to hear the soothing words. He puts his arm around me as I slump over the headstone. The roses are all scattered. Seeing them in the moonlight, I cry a bit more.

"It will be okay," Davey says quietly. Sketch sits on the grass and takes my hand.

"Is this what you meant, by your baby needs you?" she asks.

"Yes, and you wouldn't let me." I say.

"We all thought, well, we the all thought…" she stutters.

"I know," I say. "I am sorry."


	5. Chapter 5: Newsie for a Day

"Come on Lucy," I pleaded, "We have to leave." She looks at me, then back at the grave. Ike cocks his head like a puppy, the usual look to get her to do something. She tries to read the headstone but fails, she picks up each rose daintily, and holds it out. Ike and I graciously accept, but we put the back when she isn't looking, she doesn't notice either.

"Up," she bubbles to Ike and he lifts her up in his strong arms. As we continue down the hill, we take glances back at the grave, in remembrance of last week. When Sketch, Davey and Ike thought I wanted to commit suicide when I said 'my baby needs me'. I remember that night; Sketch and Davey wanted Ike and I to come on a double date. Didn't turn out the way we expected, I ran out crying really hard, and they chased me to the grave. Afterward, they gave me a long talk and they walked out of our apartment.

"We are planning to increase our circulation again," Sketch says when she comes to my doorstep. I nod; she looks at me and mouths 'I'm sorry'. I invited her in, but she had to go pick up Evan from Butta Fingas, that's what Ike is doing, going to pick up Lucy. Soon, Star and I are at the harbor with Ike. He tries to sell some for us, but he somewhat is a natural. He uses a desperate tone and makes his puppy dog look.

"Doesn't work just for children," he says. I smile as I see Star selling a pape to someone on the dock.

"You need to get a job," I say. "I can't be the only one bringing money home. If you need, Lucy can always come with me."

He rubs his hands through his hair. "I know, it's just…." He trails off. I look i'm in the eyes.

"If you had a job, maybe we could have more things." I say. "We could do a lot more things with Lucy."

"I know, I am still really upset about my baby boy." He says.

I sigh, "I am too, but we have to keep living. We can always try again and this time if you waned, we could adopt."

"No, I want him to be fully ours. I don't want to explain his story, and when you're adopting a baby, it's like adopting a puppy. Pick out the one that suits you best." He says.

"Papers!" Star screams from the other side. I laugh, _she is so loud_, I thought. Immediately, four people come up to her and ask about the headline, three left with papers. Ike and I start selling again, he does well. He made twenty cents, not bad, but I made eighty.

"Don't you dare try to be using sass action against me." He smiles while I laugh really hard.

"Oh of course not, Mr. O'Malley," I say is a playful tone. This makes him smile as I hear Lucy crying, she needs to be changed again. I do it kind of messily, but I have my reasons.

"Go get a job," I say. "At least look for one," I say, "One that fits your interests."

"Do you think I'd make a good newsies?" he asks.

I burst out laughing, "You would have to keep up with us though, and sometimes we sell more than five hundred papes a day in the summer per pair. You can't all do that with a puppy dog face."

He grimaces, and then he speaks out again.

"To the harbor," he immediately says smiling.

"Then talk to the office manager, he buys any fish you catch for a day, he pays well, and If you wish to keep any, he will wrap it for you, and he knows me well, so I think we can get a little more money out of him." I say smiling_. Then I could see him every day and not be distracted from selling my papes_, I thought. The odd of this was now, subject to change.


	6. Chapter 6: I'm Cereal

"Hey baby," Ike says. He puts his arms around my waist.

"I got a job at the harbor, like you said. The office manager really likes me, and now that he knows I'll be working, he can give us a bit more money than usual." He says.

"I am so happy for you! Are you cereal? "I ask

"Yes," he says in a playful tone. "I am not flaking, I am being cereal."

He picks me up and spins me around; he sets me back down and kisses my forehead.

"I love you." I say.

"I love you too," he replies. Lucy is asleep for her nap, so I can get some alone time with Ike.

"So, what are you gonna do? Besides fishing, I mean." I ask.

"Well, I basically fish until I get at least five, then I can sell them to the office. Anything less than five we get to keep. So, I guess dinner is gonna be on me sometimes." He says. I blush_, no cooking every night_, I thought.

"Do I make a cute puppy face though?" Ike asks, blushing.

"Yes, you do." I blush. "You are the cutest puppy in the world." He turns scarlet. We look out the window and see the moon is rising.

"I've got something I really need to tell you later, "say Ike.

"Good or Bad?" I say.

"I am not totally sure. You will find out soon, I think it's time I ask." He replies. "I will ask Star to watch Lucy tonight."

"Fine," I say kind of impatient because I really want to know what he will ask. But I am also kind of scarred. I wonder if it's about his job or me. In no time five o'clock comes and Star comes over to watch Lucy. Right before we leave, she gives Ike that mischievous look that says she is my best friend; hurt her and your dead.

"Cheerio," she says laughing. She must know about our "cereal" talk. Ike guides me to the doorway and picks me up bridal style. He has done this so much in the past month; it hasn't become so rare anymore. Still, it makes my heart flutter and my mind go crazy. He carries me all the way to the harbor and he places me in his boat. Underneath his seat, I see a picnic basket. Ike also gets in and he rows us out. We sit in silence as the sun began to set. The shades of orange and pink made his eyes sparkle like they always had.

"So," he says. "About Stefanzo…" he trails off, losing his thoughts to the sunset, "Never mind."

I calmly say, "So, what were you going to ask me? It sounded like it was important."

"Um," he cleared his throat. "Well, I was wondering about the possibility of another child. You said I will get my baby boy, and I lost him, so I was wondering if…" Ike explains.

"Yes," I say, hushing his words.

"I know it has been a short time since Stefanzo, but…" he says, loosing thought.

"Yes." I say again, I kiss him before he says anything else.


	7. Chapter 7: Plans

"When?" I ask.

"Sometime soon," Ike says "Will you be okay with it?"

"Yea, just keep thinking about…" I say, trailing off for the thirtieth time today.

"I know, I have been thinking about it too." He replies.

"What if it's another girl?" I ask. Ike smiles grimly in the dark. The moon lights up the bedroom as I see him frown.

"Then it will be another girl." He says.

"You know you will get your baby boy." I say. "Just be patient."

"Fine, but it will feel like I have been waiting forever." He says.

"How many are you planning?" I ask.

"Just Lucy and a boy." He says, realizing when I had Lucy, it was pain city for nine months. It was almost pure betrayal.

"Then what are we waiting for?" I say. I snuggle up to him, he feels warm and smells like salt from the harbor. _Better than fish_, I think smiling.

"You're my Heaven," I say smiling in the dark almost asleep, I put my head into the crook of his neck. I let out a sigh of relief.

"And you are my little angel." He says I know he is wide awake and is waiting for something.

"So what is Lucy then?" I ask.

"She is my little angel too." He says he knows I like that reply. "She is my baby girl, I love her to pieces."

He crawls on top of me and starts kissing my forehead. I was really sore from selling papes today; so I let him do whatever he wanted. The moment he became incredibly flirtatious, I start falling asleep. Not caring what he does. It feels good; he combs out my hair and braids it. Whenever he needs to, he changes Lucy and sits next to me again. All this time he is singing a lullaby. _So this is true meaning of Love, no regrets, _I think, _I like it._

The next morning I am as sore as a bunny almost killed. I look at Ike and he has a guilty smile on his face. Somewhere along the way, he fell asleep too. I groan because I realize I can't move a lot. _And I have to sale today, we were planning to increase our circulation again, _I think. I still think of last night, when Ike took me out in his boat and told me he wanted another child; I was shocked it was so soon, but I got my little Lucy, he should get his child. I think he is. I leave a note for him on the table, saying I will be selling; he should come around in a few hours after he wakes up. No telling what he did to me. I start to regret it again. _No,_ I think, _it was my choice; you have power in a marriage too. Not caring what Davey said to sketch when he was drunk._ Sketch told me about it. I hear her voice mimicking Davey.

"This is what the father does, he makes decisions, you're the wife, you are supposed to…blah, do whatever I say…."and all this other stuff.

It's not like I don't agree with him, but a wife isn't a total servant. We have lives too.

Star and I are that the harbor again, we sold two hundred, not bad for a day with a high of fifty five degrees. We needed a break from the winter. What do I have to loose_, I think smiling. _I may have another kid._ Hope it's not a miscarriage._


	8. Chapter 8: Calming Thoughts

I starred at the piano as I walked by the bar, wondering how Mike can play so well. I swing the door open and walk inside. So glad I sold all my papes for the day, Star and I both made two dollars. _ He either has to memorize the music, or the keys_, I think. It makes me kind of envious because I don't know how to play. I don't have time for it though; I have papes to sell and a family to take care of. Mike plays at one thirty, I look at the clock, its five minutes from now. I see him walk in and he looks at me. He comes over to where I am sitting; he pulls the chair on the opposite side.

"You here alone?" he asks, I nod my head instantly.

"Just thinking," I say. He gives me this 'I understand' look. He looks at his pocket watch and goes to the piano. He sits down and starts playing a small tune. I gaze at his fingers, moving so gracefully. I get lost in the song, thinking about Ike, Lucy, and possibly my new baby. I still feel sore from last night. Ike sees me in the bar and comes in, holding Lucy.

"Hey girlie," I say, Lucy smiles at me and Ike kisses me.

"How do you know I was here?" I ask.

"Star told me where you went after selling today. She said you looked 'lost in thought' and became nervous you will slip into your depression again, you know the first month after the death."

"Oh," I say, kind of disappointed.

"Why did you bring Lucy to a bar?" I ask. I think I know the answer, but my head is filled with pain, and my body is really sore.

"She needed to see her mama," he replies, I smile broadly.

"Mama," she giggles.

"She likes you more," he says. He gives me a comical groan. I can tell he is sore too. _He had to do everything to make sure he had this baby. _I think, _it's so soon, just too soon, it's only been almost four months. No, it was my choice, no one stopped you. Be happy. _Ike can see this in my eyes.

"It's okay," I say, realizing he hasn't said anything.

"What," he says. He crooks his eyebrow. Still holing Lucy, he puts her on the table, her legs hanging over the side. They were caked with pale blood stains.

I gasp,

"Now, I know what you're thinking, but" says Ike.

"Why is she….?" I question harshly.

"She was at the harbor with me and I turned away for a second while I was exchanging my 'catch of the day'. "

"Oh, I understand now, sorry," I say. Ike hushes me with a kiss. I see Mike look at me when I kiss Ike, he smiles.

Mike starts sinning while he plays. He plays "If you've Only Got a Mustache," a song Butta Fingas told me was his first song he learned to sing. I start laughing and pick up Lucy, she doesn't need to be in a bar and I offer to take her home.

"It's okay, we will go soon." He replies. Lucy is now asleep on my back. We start walking home in less than five minutes, I beg Ike to leave when Mike finishes the song. He smiles and agrees. Moments later we are walking down the sidewalk. I give Lucy to Ike, because I can't hold her much longer. I just end up letting Ike carry her and he holds my hand and doesn't let go until we reach the apartment. We call Star to come over for a little to watch Lucy. We already put Lucy down and head out to the dock as Star comes. She gives Ike a smile that says everything will be perfect tonight, but hurt my friend, and you get to talk to Jack Kelly. Ike just smirks at her when i'm not looking. Still holding hands we walk to the dock. We lie on the beach as we watch the sunset fade into the night. I get the last kiss of the day. It is one we were both fully aware off. His lips are surprisingly soft in every way possible.

"Welcome to cloud nine" he beams. I lean in close and kiss him for the longest time. _A new record,_ I thought, smiling. He picks me up bridal style when I least expect it.

"Let's go see our baby boy." He says. Now we are both smiling, _he finally gets it, _I thought, _as if he didn't already. _

"I love you sunshine" I say. "And you're always there, in any type of weather." He blushes, hard, and nothing, not even the stars can outshine his smile.


	9. Chapter 9: The Invitation

The moment I wake up Star is at my doorstep. _Ugh, I'm late again_, I thought, _this is the fifth time this month._ Star comes bouncing into the bedroom.

"Ike and Lucy are at the Harbor, oh, and no one is selling today" she says, I see something behind her back, it isn't papes. She jumps over to my side of the bed, wearing her excited face. _This can't be good,_ I thought.

"Guess what, Guess what, Guess what" she says, bouncing higher and higher each time. She stops for a second,

"Hype, you have to guess," she looks at me and smiles. "Just guess."

"Is it about that thing behind your back?" I say, now I'm smiling

"Quit bouncing and tell me," I say. She eagerly hands over the piece of paper behind her back. We must have used Pulitzer's printing press again. It looks like the insert of a pape we would sell. I scan it and see at least at least four things only newsies would get. In big bold letters, it read:

_Newsies Dance_

_Get ready to seize the day, well night at Medda's Theater (208 West 41st Street.) It is gonna be a formal dance brought to you by Jack, Specs and Race, for the anniversary of the opening of Medda's theater. Mike and a bunch of others have already agreed to play piano and other instruments. It will run at March 24, 6:00 till midnight. For the rest of the night, you will be saying the 'that's rich'. It's gonna be so big 'the world' will know. If you need child care *cough* Hype *cough* Sketch* please contact the lodging house lady twenty four hours before the event; can't wait to see you carry the banner to the Nederlander. _

I lousily get dressed and we go to the lodging house. We hear Race's screams.

"He is so high," I say laughing. I walk up to him and hold the flyer in front of him.

"Okay Race, who is the target?" I ask. He gives me a blank stare.

"Is it Hike, Slink, Sketchy or Bikeas?" I question, another blank stare.

"Who's Hike, Slink, and Bikeas?" he finally says, I sigh as I try to explain.

"Hike is me and Ike, Slink is Star and Blink, and Bikeas is Butta Fingas and Mike." I say.

"There is no target, I promise." He says. I look him straight in the eye.

"Something tells me you are high right now, I'm gonna ask Specs about it." I say. He holds his hands up in defense.

"Fine by me," He says, shoving his hands into his pockets. I see Specs leaning his frame against the door of the boy's side. He turns around as I approach him.

"Hey Hype, where is your little Lucy?" he asks.

"At the harbor with Ike, is there a target for the dance?" I ask.

"What do you mean?" he replies sweetly

"Who is the target? Is it because you want to see Butta Fingas and Mike together before their wedding?" I say.

"No, did you read it? It says for the anniversary of Medda's theater opening," He says, he looks sad now.

"Well, okay, I can't lie to a fellow newsie, the target is Butta Fingas and Mike, but you didn't hear this from me." He says.

"I heard Jack is bringing Katherine." He gushes; all I have to do is find someone.

"You will, I promise." I say.

"Not gonna happen, I don't need a girlfriend, but it would be nice all the things…." He trails off. I walk over to where Star is standing and I whisper that Bikeas is the target. She nods her head.

"We won't tell her." Star says.

"She will find out one way or another." I say.

"We won't tell her, the rest of the newsies didn't promise anything," she says mischievously. We say good-bye to the rest of the newsies and start for the harbor.

"I hope we will get to see Lucy before they go home." Star says. "What is it like to have a kid?" This makes me stop walking for a minute.

"Well, it's a big responsibility and it's really fun because you know that your kid will do something great in the world, you get to raise an individual." I say. She nods her head slowly as I pick up the pace to the harbor.

"Hype, look, I see them." She points out to the edge of the dock. Ike must have been lost in thought; I had to speak before he noticed I was there.

"Lost in thought?" I say as Star picks up Lucy.

"Yea, are you doing okay, because of…" he says.

"Yea, I've done it once, I can do it again," I whisper. "I don't think the pain would be too much." I remember the pain I had before Lucy came, I was aching all over and I threw up a lot. I showed him the paper for the dance at the end of the month.

"Sounds like fun, I can't wait" He says, kissing my forehead.


	10. Chapter 10: Dresses

"So what are you gonna wear?" Star gushes.

"Like I know," I say, tearing through my closet. "Well, it said formal, so I'm gonna have to dig a little more for a good dress."

"I think you should wear something floral, Ike says you look petty with flowers in your hair." She says looking through a bunch of dress catalogues we got this morning while selling papes.

"Well, I can't buy something new, no one can. We are all skimming by anyways." I say. "Ike wants me to look for his best shirt and slacks, too." I let out a sigh and plop down on the bed; my face is buried in my pillow. It's time to switch places, now Star is tearing through my closet. She pulls out a pink dress that is way too small.

"Really Hype," She says sarcastically. I look upward, finding the dress to be one I use to wear in Sundays.

"My dad thought it would look cute on me." I say, not caring what she says next.

"Well, it is a cute dress, maybe Lucy can wear it when she's older," she says. She moves deeper in my closet. The only things we could find were stuff when my parents were alive, my memories. She takes a box out and I slide to the floor, next to her.

"Hey look," I say, she turns her head to see the picture of my parents. "This is the only picture of my parents I have." Star wears a smile, no longer thinking about the dance. I take out another framed picture; this one is when my brother went to a dance with Sarah. Star finds a picture and hands it to me.

"This was during my thirteenth summer; it was when my dad found his passion for gardening." I say. I lost a lot of knowledge of plants, but I would still know what is safe to eat of one. You can eat dandelions if prepared properly; you can eat rose petals if they haven't been tainted by chemicals, and all this other stuff my dad made me remember.

"Anyways, I still need something for the dance," I say, putting everything back into the box and shove it under my bed, next to my wedding dress.

"Wear your wedding dress," Star says, "Technically, your only wear a dress once, but this is a special occasion."

"Technically, we can't afford a dress anytime we want to wear one. That is why we mix everything when we want a new look." I say. Star dives even deeper.

"Why do you have such a big closet when you don't even have a dress?" she asks. She then turns around.

"Oh, I see, you share it with Ike." She says.

"Yes, and most of this is just memories. Oh, I found something." I say, showing her the dress.

"My brother got me this for my sixteenth birthday." I say, running my finger over the soft lace.

"That was the year my brother convinced our aunt to give him his part of his inheritance and he started trading on Wall were really close then, we are really close now. Actually, I think I brought a bunch of stuff back from Santa Fe." I say, taking my bag off the shelf of the closet. I still haven't taken anything out, even though it was probably a year ago. Star comes out of my closet; she shakes her curls out happily. She walks over to the bed as I carefully remove my bag off of Ike's tuxedo bag. My wedding dress was wrapped the same way. I open the bag to find the smell of Santa Fe. I take out each thing with care and lay them on the bed. A skirt here, a blouse here, and I finally pull out a dress that is somewhat formal, light blue, and somewhat floral.

"Pretty," Star says as I hold it up. "Go try it on," she coaxes.

"Fine," I say, Stepping out of the closet with it on. I spin around in it, letting the long skirt fly out.

"Sure, I'll wear it," I say. Star gushes as she braids my hair to the side.

"Just have to find a flower to match." Star says. Ike comes in from the harbor, leaning his frame against the door.

"Lucy is wow… I mean, umm… wow…" he says.

I walk over to where he stands.

"Lucy is asleep?" I ask.

"Yea…." He says. "You look…..wow." I gush inside, _perfect_, I think, _what will Sketch and Butta Fingas will wear? Oh great, now Star just needs a dress._


	11. Chapter 11: Perspective

"Trust me, you look gorgeous." I say as Star turns to look in the mirror.

"Are you sure? I think it needs to be a different color, maybe blue like yours, or maybe…." Star says.

"Star, you look amazing, you look like a star," I say. "Come on, if you want you could wear something of mine."

"Um, no, you are crazy." She says. "I'm sorry, Blink is taking me to the dance and I want it to be perfect."

"I understand" I say smiling. Ike is with us, Star wanted a guy's perspective, and Lucy came too.

"I wonder what Sketch is wearing," Star said dreamily.

"Oh, she told me" I say, glancing as I see Ike holding Lucy, she is touching anything in her reach.

"She says it will be like their color pallet is silver, blues, teals, and black." I say smiling, I'm thinking of what Ike would wear. I'm thinking it should be like his shirt should be flushed out blue with like black slacks and his gold pocket watch of course. Star comes out of the powder room with another dress on. She looks in the mirror and poses a few times before she says:

"I like this one." It was a pretty pink, somewhat of a sundress. It was clearly a dress for dancing, and I knew she had a special pair of heels that matched perfectly.

"It certainly does look good on you." I say. "Ike, give your opinion."

"Star, i'm gonna say you look pretty fine in that dress, Blink will really like it." He says, trying to hide the red in his cheeks.

"Pretty," Lucy giggles.

"Too bad, because you're not coming to the dance, little Miss." I say to Lucy cheekily. "Anyways, we got to go home so I can find something for Ike to wear." He gives a comical groan. I say good bye to Star, but after she purchases it. The pink reminds me of the sun setting at the harbor. I take Ike by the hand, the one not holding Lucy and we walk home. Several blocks down, Ike gives me Lucy. When we get home, I change her immediately, and then I walk into the bedroom.

"Let's see," I say, circling Ike as he stands still. He says he hates this, but his smirk gives away that he likes it.

"You need a lot of work" I say smiling. "Well, I am wearing a pastel blue and Sketch is wearing teal. So, I think you should wear this." I say, holding up his favorite plaid blue shirt and black slacks.

"I get to wear my gold pocket watch right?" he questions. I nod my head, while trying to figure out how to make the shirt dressier. _Washing it will be a big improvement, _I thought. _Wouldn't hurt to take his and my outfit to the cleaners, I think I have enough money from selling newspapers. _I got to the cleaners early in the morning; no doubt Ike will still be sleeping. When I get back, I see Ike making breakfast. He isn't wearing a shirt, but I'm more concentrated on the food. Biscuits, eggs and ham cover the table. I awake Lucy and bring her to the table. Ike comes over early with plates.

"Good morning my little angel," He says, kissing me on my cheek.

"Good morning sunshine," I say smiling. "I took our stuff out to the cleaners; I paid already, my treat."

"Good," he says. We eat in silence, now Lucy can eat with a fork and spoon, she jabs each piece of ham harshly then sticks it in her mouth.

"She is pretending to be a shark." Ike says when he sees my look at Lucy. I laugh as I wipe her face.

"There is a week until the dance, but Lucy still hasn't had a birthday celebration." I say.

"Then let's go out and get her five things a three year old would like." Ike says, popping up from his chair.

"No, I mean she needs a bigger bed besides a crib." I say. "Then we can be ready if we have too." I say, slightly quieter. Ike nods his head.

"Well, can't we go buy her one?" he says. I sigh and give in.

"You would mess it up if you had to make one." I say smiling.

"Well then." He replies, he kisses me again and starts to clear the dishes from the table. In no time, Star is at our doorstep.

"Hype" she calls out, "Hurry up!" the familiar call, I think. Ike kisses me before I head out the door. We strike at the west side of the harbor first, we sell all of our papes in an hour, making a dollar solid; Star gives me fifty cents. We finally agree to blow it in the café. When we arrive, we sit down and Star explodes with happiness.

"Blink gave me a ribbon for the dance; I told him what color my dress was. He said I matched his good shirt." Star says. She goes on at this for at least an hour. I'm not really paying attention, to busy thinking about the dance.


	12. Chapter 12: Ugh Race

"I can't wait for tonight," says Star. I glance at her and smile.

"Saying it every five seconds isn't going to make time go faster," I say. She glares at me. \

"I'm excited too, but we have work to do." I say warmly. "But i'm also scarred for Butta Fingas and Mike, you know, cause they are the 'target' and their wedding is in five days."

"I know," Star says. "I really hope Blink will like my dress."

"He will," I say, "Come on, we have ten papes left."

She sulks as she counts them.

"Fine," she says, she heads off to the west side of the dock and starts yelling. Immediately six ask the headline, five leave with papes. She returns to where I am standing.

"Your turn," she says. I go to the east side and yell out a random headline and easily sell the rest.

"Done," I say, returning with a smile. "Now go get ready for tonight." She eagerly runs to the lodging house, and I don't see her until the dance.

Back at the house Ike is ready to go. He looks perfect; his tie goes perfectly with his gorgeous green eyes.

"Come on baby, let's get you cleaned up." He whispers. He starts the bath and I slowly step in. I rub myself down with soap as I hear him say:

"I'm going to take Lucy to the Landlady's house," and I smile. "I also have your dress and heals ready" he says. He leaves and returns in less than ten minutes. So happy we live close to the Lodging house. I blush, I know what's gonna happen next and I'm right. He slowly opens the door and walks over to me. "It's five thirty," he says. Come on; get out so I can braid your hair." There is no way I could miss the blush in his cheeks. I slowly get out and Ike hands me a towel. I am covered with bubbles, Ike smiles, trying not to stare. He leaves to go to the kitchen while I pull on my dress. It's a bit tight around the waist, but it will work. _No wonder I forgot about this,_ I think. I step into the kitchen when I see Ike holding a dozen white roses. I sit down and he carefully dries my hair and braids it, weaving in silk flowers and baby blue ribbons.

"Elsa taught me how to do this," he says. "She thought it was the only way for me to get a girlfriend."

"And here we stand," I say. He finishes it off with small elastic at the end and I kiss him.

"Thank you," I say, looking into the mirror at my beautiful hair. I grab my roses and purse. We walk out to the doorstep and start for the theater. Suddenly, Ike picks me up bridal style and we walk straight to the theater, kind of surprising you don't hear screaming as you walk through the lodging house. As we walk in this way, we hear a cat-call, obviously Race.

"Way to arrive in style." He says. I burry my face in Ike's shirt, hiding my blush, Ike puts me down and I look around, everyone looks amazing. I see Star flirting madly with Blink. I also make a face at Davey when he sees me staring at him when he was looking at the wine. Ike and I walk up to Jack, he loves my dress. _Of course,_ I think, I see Ike roll his eyes and start laughing. Smalls, Sketch and Butta Fingas walk up to me. Sketch and I are both wearing shades of blue that make us both smile. Smalls is wearing a beautiful in her purple dress, and Butta Fingas looks elegant in her red dress. I glance at Star wearing her pink dress and her matching heels. Davey comes over and kisses Sketch,

"Hey baby, Mike's gonna play a slow song first, want to dance?" he asks playfully, he twirls her twice as we all fade out to find our guys. I see Ike talking to Mike about what he will play. I smile as I run into Specs.

"I didn't find a date." He says.

"Oh, I'm so sorry," I say.

"No its fine," he says, pushing his glasses up. He tells me a lame joke expecting me to laugh, and I do. Again, another cat-call from Race:

"Ike, I think your wife is having fun with Specs, if you know what I mean."

"Go choke on a cigar," I say. You can hear from the others it was a good come-back. I smile and walk away.

"Nicely done Hype," Sketch says as I walk back over to my friends, I high five Davey, Mike and Twig.

"Hey Race," Ike says. "Watch this." He twirls me and kisses me on the lips.

"She's mine." He glares at him, He hugs me and I see Race glare at us, then walk over to the wine. Jack comes up to him and whispers something to him. Race sulks like a puppy and doesn't perk up until the announcer says for this song; we **have **to dance with someone other than our spouse. I smile as I see Star taking forever to pull away from Blink. I also see Smalls walk up to Specs, and realize he is an incredibly good dancer. I think the song was half way over when Mike comes up to me.

"May I?" he asks, "Butta Fingas wanted to trade for this, to get her mind off the wedding." He says. Mike twirls me and is incredibly good at slow dancing. I only get quick glimpses of Butta Fingas and Ike, they look so happy. I quit caring about Race and finish the dance. At the end, the guys bow to their partners and the girls curtsy.

"You look beautiful," Mike says, as I stare at Specs and Smalls. I have no idea who Twig danced with. I head later that night Davey danced with Katherine, and Sketch danced with Race, because he was being cheeky and also at the end of the dance, we hear her slap him. That was amusing, I thought as I went to find Ike. I see Sketch carefully trained her eyes on Davey; he must be at the table for wine. She walks over to where he is standing. He twirls her around and pulls her close, you can see her face as she smells wine on his breath. Seconds later, I see Sketch pull Davey into a powder room, Race must see it too, so he lets out another cat call.

"Don't be so sure, Race." I say.

"You again" he asks, "didn't you already crush me tonight?" All of the sudden, we hear Sketch scream.

"Are you crazy?" she says, the whole theater bounces her words back and forth.

"No baby, I'm drunk." He says. I can only imagine the smirk on his face. We don't hear any more and the bad plays a happier tune. Five seconds later we hear the door swing open. Davey emerges first, half drunk and covered in lipstick. Sketch then comes out; she looks like she's been drugged. Race gives out another cat call, some song about a tree. I was looking for Ike before Specs approached me again.

"Hi Specs, did you enjoy your dance?" I ask politely.

"Oh yes, it was great, first we…." He trailed off. I kind of feel bad I left him, but I had to find Ike.


	13. Chapter 13: Happiness

I jump as someone covers my eyes.

"It's just me Hype, easy" Ike says, uncovering my eyes. I turn around and hug him.

"Where were you?" I ask getting lost in his green eyes.

"I was on the other side of the theater looking for you," he replies. I gush, then I feel my face go pale, and he probably thought I was avoiding him. I felt awful. He reaches to fix a flower in my braid. Just then, the band decides to play a slow song. Ike leads me to the middle; he pulls me as close as possible. Nothing, not even a piece of paper could be fit between us. I gracefully put my hand on his shoulder while he grips me firmly by the waist. We start to circle lazily around the theater, past Sketch and Davey, and we finally pass Butta Fingas and Mike when we hear a familiar cat call from Race.

"He needs to choke on a cigar," Ike mutters.

"Like you read my mind," I say whimsically. "Let's not focus on that though."

"Fine," says Ike, I put my head on his shoulder; I can only picture the grin on his face.

"And dip," Ike whispers as the song ends.

"Good Job," I say, "you were perfect." Ike leans down to kiss me as I see Race messing with Butta Fingas. I quickly bring my attention back to Ike and he kisses me and holds it for a long time. Half way through, I rub my hand through his hair.

"Well then," Ike says as we finally break away. Then we hear Race:

"Would you look at that," he calls "Someone is getting Feisty." He glares at me, wondering if I have another comeback, I instantly thought of one as it came out of my mouth.

"Get a girlfriend," I smirk. "Wait, how can you do that if you choked on your cigar?" Another good comeback, I heard someone scream Race zero, Hype two, I blush. Race's face falls, I turn around, and surprisingly, Ike's did to.

"What?" I ask calmly

"It's nothing," he says, he kisses me again, trying to make me forget about his expression. He walks off to the other side of the theater and I turn around to see my friends staring at me.

"What was that?" asks Star.

"I am not sure," I say. A pit I my stomach feel empty and my heart aches. I quickly walk up to Mike and tell him what happened.

"Well, its eleven thirty right now, do you want me to talk to him?" he questions.

"No," I say, "I can do it."

"Well, then he is right over there." Mike replies, he points over to the food. I see him with small mountains of cookies and a beer. He chews the cookies timidly as he sees me approach. I sit myself down at the opposite end and see Mike start for the piano. On the other side of the theater, I see Butta Fingas ready to melt; she is holding a red rose Mike probably gave to her.

"So," Ike whispers, he sees me stare off. "You're probably wondering why I have a—"

"No," I say, cutting him off. "Are you okay? I ask. I really didn't feel like him saying the word beer. _Oh well,_ I think.

"Yea," he says slowly, "The memory was stupid."

"What memory?" I ask I feel like a cat just waiting for the curiosity to kick in.

"There was this one time, I think I was thirteen. Elsa was right, I didn't get a girlfriend. Then, I saw you at the harbor five years later, I found out what real love is. To have someone to fight for." He whispers the last part. "I remember that day and will never forget it, I promise."

"I remember that day too. I remember how crazy we both were." I say, starring into his warm green eyes. They made the moment perfect. "I remember when you first took me out in your boat. " I say smiling. I look deep into his green eyes. "Thank you for not letting me falls into the harbor."

"Well your friends went really looking and I didn't want something as pretty as you to fall in." Ike blushes. "I was going to tell you I like you when we met up on the first night and we dove in the water. But I was really nervous; I didn't want to lose the person I cared so much for."

"You are never going to lose me," I say warmly. "Now come on, we have a dance to enjoy." Ike gives in and we dance for what seems like the next century. The song ends and Mike comes down from the piano, he gets cheers as he bows.

"Well, I think we will call it a night" whispers Butta Fingas, Mike looks at her and he says his goodbyes. She hugs each of us before she leaves. She lastly hugs Ike.

"Thank you for the dance" she whispers. Mike brings his arm up and she accepts_. No one is selling tomorrow_, I think, _I was right._ Star and Blink walked back to the Lodging house for the night. Ike pulled out his pocket watch.

"It is one in the morning" he announces. I sleepily rub my eyes and wonder how Lucy is doing.

"Let's go home baby," he says smiling. He opens the door as I say goodbye and thank you to my fellow newsies. They all wave as they see Ike carry me bridal style for the last time of the night. He starts talking; the warmth in his voice makes everything he says wonderful.

"About earlier," he starts "I want to live a life and not just play a part. I want to walk into the sunset and sail across the sea. I want to be yours forever. I promise, the final word the last you'll hear of me is goodbye. Goodbye to every night alone." He smiles. We reach the doorstep and he finally puts me down. We walk inside to the bedroom and get ready for the rest of the night.

"It's already late," he gushes, "why not sleep for a few hours, then we can go to the harbor to watch the sunrise," he says cheekily. "We can take turns, I can sleep first, and then wake me up when you get tired, and then wake me up and I'll wake you when the sun rises.

"Okay, but I get to sleep in an hour," I say smiling. "I can do this."

I curl up next to Ike as he starts humming a song we heard earlier tonight.

"I really trust you Ike," I say, laying my head into his neck, and let out a sigh.

"I trust you too," he says, half asleep. I believe him.


	14. Chapter 14: The Morning Sun

"Come on baby," Ike says quietly, "or else we will miss the sunrise." I lazily look out the window and sit up and open me eyes to see Ike right next to me. He wears the same thing he wore last night, just not his tie. I give him a puzzled look. I glance back to the window as Ike opens his mouth.

"It was close to me," he shrugs. I laugh at his remark and get up to see I am still in my dress from last night._ I must have fallen asleep before I had a chance to change_, I think. He smiles as he steps out behind me and locks the door. I quickly change into a blue sundress.

"I hope Lucy will be fine," I say quietly.

"She will and its early she should still be asleep until we get back." He says. He takes my hand and we start for the harbor, happy he didn't pick me up bridal style. The broad streaks of daylight approach when we reach the dock. I see his boat already tied to the post.

"We have to hurry if we want to catch the sunrise." He smiles as I get in. when he steps in, he rocks the boat a little.

"Too many cookies from last night," I suggest laughing. The vibration of the water proves how gracefully he can step into the boat.

"Very funny Hype," he smiles. You can tell he is laughing on the inside. He smiles broadly as he rows us out. We gaze out onto the horizon as I noticed Ike was right beside me, holding my hand. I look down, and then look back up, trying not to spoil the moment. He kisses me on the cheek as the sun rose. The orange, yellow and pink streaks light up his eyes. We watch the stars fade in the light, they disappear one by one.

"I wish all of life's problems would disappear like that," I say quietly. Ike brings his attention away from the sun, just inches over the horizon. He turns toward me as I look at the fading stars.

"Maybe if you'd focus on the light, leave your pain in the past, life isn't a race to happiness." He says. He looks deep into my eyes. He knows I've been thinking about Stefanzo and Lucy a lot.

"The birds and the trees, the flowers, blueberries, there's so much to see, in this beautiful reality. Smile at your reflection, your wrinkles, your scars, and every imperfection. You're beautiful, you're art." He says. I blush so hard, not even the red light on the water can match. But deep inside, he is eating his own words. _He is hurting just as much as I do, maybe more_, I think.

"Well, everyone has problems, but the world keeps on spinning, no matter what we do.  
So let's keep moving, Lets fight on, let's keep laughing, let's stay strong." I reply I can't help to laugh a little. The sun is high as it is usually in eight in the morning, if it was summer. _No, _I think, _but it is spring. _I smile broader. The sun was way over our heads when Ike decides to row us back to the dock.


	15. Chapter 15: A Walk in the Park

I open the door to see Star smiling broadly. She looks excited, wait, I know that face, it's her 'I'm so happy I could explode' face.

"Hi Hype," she says, her voice is full of excitement. "Blink and I are going for a walk in the park later, I think this may be a date, but I'm kind of scarred of screwing it up. I asked him if we could make it a double date with Hype and Ike and he agreed. Do you want to come with us?" she said quickly. I smile and nod, I let her in so she can see Lucy, Star is basically her fairy godmother, and it makes me smile. Lucy is wide awake when Star comes in; Ike was out this morning buying her a bed for her fourth birthday. Ike wanted to make on for her because it would be sentimental, but we both knew he couldn't build a bed. He comes through the door with a tiny bed, just the perfect size for Lucy

"I got her a bed, just have to assemble it" he says, he looks exhausted as he goes into Lucy's room. I take Lucy out of her room while Ike lays out his tools and wood. We sit in the living room as we hear Ike yelp in pain as he calls that he hit his finger with his hammer. _Klutz, _I think. I see Star has the same thoughts and we burst out laughing. Star and I sit on the couch as he starts explaining the afternoon.

"I think it will just be a walk then we go to the café. That's about it." She says. "I am so excited; I'm going to change into my mint green dress before we leave. We will pick you guys up, bring Lucy too." She says.

"If my baby's up to the heat," I say smiling, "she has been so tired lately. I think she wants to learn how to run later anyways."

"Blink really likes to see Lucy because she is so little, he also likes it that she is a girl. He says he sees to many boys in the lodging house every day, can't blame him to want to see a four year old girl." I smile broadly while she list Blink's reasons. Ike calls us in as he finishes the bed. It looks perfect for my little Lucy. It's painted pink, Lucy's favorite color, and has flowers all over it. She is obsessed with flowers, like the roses on Stefazno's grave. It hurts for me to think about it, but not as much, I've learned to cope. I think my friends think about him too. We can make it to place flowers on his grave every two weeks now instead of one. Ike feels like I will slip into my depression again, but I know that is still possible.

Noon comes in no time, Ike had Lucy's bed done and we finished eating lunch. I see Star and Blink approaching and Ike, Lucy and I meet then at the doorstep. I see Blink's eyes light up. I hold Lucy close as Blink tells Ike the plans for the afternoon as I see Star whisper:

"Thank you"

I nod my head slightly as Ike holds my hand, remembering we have Lucy and we walk to the park. I still have Lucy by the time we get to the center fountain; she's getting heavy so Ike thought he should carry her. It was a great plan, I hold her for one hour, and Ike holds her the next. It's not like it's a nuisance, she's our baby. When Ike holds her I can see in his eyes he is hurting because of Stefanzo. Last week when we went to the grave, we found it adorned with roses. We still have no idea who left them, but I thank them for it. Star and I make plans to meet at the fountain again at five for dinner. She seems calmer now as Blink takes her hand and they start in the other direction. Ike, Lucy and I head to path with the mulberry trees, just trying to bud. I point out on one of the trees where Sketch and Davey carved their initials into it. _It is still there, _I think, _they did it at least ten years ago._ Ten years ago, we were just as crazy as we are now, but we did give let go of some things. Ike hands Lucy over to me as he looks sad. I graciously accept my baby. She is the only child of ours that has survived, _I think. I mean, we have only tried twice, I wonder how my newest O'Malley is doing. It seems to enjoy kicking as I feel like doubling over in pain. _

"Ike, I'm scared," I whisper as we reach the end of the sidewalk. "I'm so scarred we will lose this baby too." I have to be careful with every word I say, Ike does too. Lucy can hear every word we say, no matter how loud we talk. We see Star and Blink by the fountain when we approach them. We all walk to the café and talk about our day, well, Star and Blink did.

"First, we went to the other side of the park and watched the clouds go by, and then I kissed her and told her today was a fairy tale." Blink said, he say Star blush hard. We all talk about how our days as the hours pass, and I can tell Lucy is getting sleepy. I quietly tell Ike and he says we have to leave. Ike picks up Lucy as Blink

"Bye, Lucy," Blink says, "I can't wait to see you again." He hugs me which is kind of awkward, but it's a friendly hug, nothing romantic. Star then gets up and hugs me and Lucy.

"Thank you so much," she whispers. I hug her back.

"We are increasing our circulation again, maybe we can get back up to five cents a pape, rather than just a penny." I say smiling. Ike opens the door with his free hand and I walk through. I catch Blink winking at Lucy.

"Lucy," I say when she is in her new bed. "Blink loves you, Star loves you, Sketch and Davey love you," I stop as I see Ike at the door. He comes in and sits on the ground next to me. He smiles as he begins.

"Butta Fingas and Mike love you, Smalls and Twig love you, and, most importantly, mommy and I love you." Lucy giggles because she knows who we were talking about.

"I love you baby," I say, kissing her as Ike and I walk out of her room.


	16. Chapter 16: Conversations

"Hype," Ike says, he turns to the other side and wraps his arms around me.

"Go to sleep," I say gently, "It's two in the morning."

"I know," he says calmly, I'm afraid I haven't been as sympathetic as I thought. I let him talk though, he talks about his job and how his day was. It calms him and I know it. It always helps to talk about problems. He starts to sit up, his arm still around me.

"We need to talk about it soon." He says quietly. I rub my eyes as I sit up and rub my eyes. I see Ike's eyes light up because he got his way.

"So, let's talk about it." I whisper. Ike kisses me lightly on the cheek; he knows I'll be scarred talking about it.

"Well, about the new baby." He says cautiously, "I was thinking that we could…" he stops before he's afraid he said too much.

"We could….," I say in my gentlest tone, the one I use to talk to Lucy.

He picks up where he left off. "I don't want to know if the baby is a boy or a girl until they are born. I don't like hiding this from Lucy either, so we can tell the newsies tomorrow, as well as Lucy." Ike ticks off his reasons on his fingers. He goes white when he says half of them knowing I may be upset at some of them.

"I walk a lonely road, the only one that I have ever known; don't know where it goes but its home to me and I walk alone without you." He says, clearly thinking about Stefanzo, he is so deep in thought he doesn't even know what he is saying. He starts to be quiet as he realizes what he just said.

"I walk this empty street, on the Boulevard of Broken Dreams. When the city sleeps and I'm the only one and I walk alone if I am not with you." I say. Trying to have the same rhythm pattern, we sit in silence for the next few minutes; Ike's position hasn't changed yet. Ike continues his rhythmic pattern; he says it's from a song he can't remember.

"I'm walking down the line that divides me somewhere in my mind; on the border line of the edge and where I walk alone." He says out loud, this is the loudest he has spoken tonight.

It's my turn now, "Read between the lines, what's up and every thing's all right?" I ask. Ike doesn't give an answer. He knows I know, I can tell the way the light reflects off his eyes. Hours pass as we talk about the next few months. I haven't thrown up yet, and I'm happy for it, just extremely scarred it will be another miscarriage; maybe Sketch, Davey and Ike will really be concerned to keep me alive. Remembering the dreaded night; it was a double date, somewhat, but I guess it was either too much or too soon for me. They met me at Stefazno's grave. I shudder at the memory and Ike pulls me close, I'm practically on his lap. _He is hurting,_ I tell myself. I pull my knees up to my chin and lean on him for support, happy his arm was covering me. We drift off to sleep and when I wake up; I realize Star was at my door.

"Hype," she says sternly, "This is probably the tenth time you have been late." She throws my share of papers on Ike's side of the bed,

"Ike must have gone to the harbor; I wonder why he hasn't woken me up." I say. Star pulls a note out from behind her back.

_Hype, I don't want to push you when telling people our plans. I thought about the conversation we had last night and I liked it. I will see you at the harbor; I didn't want to wake you up because I wanted you to think. I have Lucy with me too._

_~Ike_

I throw the note next to the papes. Star waits impatiently at the door and threatens to leave without me unless I'm ready in five minutes. In no time, I washed my face and braided my hair. I pulled on a skirt and polka dot shirt before I met Star right as she walked out the door. I must have broken the speed of light. We sell half of our papes on each side. When we have two left, Star goes to sell at the office. She comes back out with two shiny pennies. We see Ike approach as Star comes out of the office. He mouths something, but I don't catch it, he mouths it again. Near tears, I nod. I can almost hear the newsies talking to another, what secrets we have kept from them, they are my family. For some reason, Specs and Smalls are debating the topic.

"I can't believe what she said," Smalls voice echoes.

"I can't believe what he did, well I do, but still," says Specs.

"Don't they know it's wrong? Hype said we were her family," complains Smalls. I can see the concern ceased in Spec's brow so clearly. "Well maybe there's something I missed, but how could they treat me like this?" I can clearly see her frustration, a firecracker with a short fuse.

"Well, the nuns say it's only the dead that can live but still I wrestle with this to lose the pain that's mine. Seventy times seven times. For me to turn a blind eye, though I guess it's not that much  
when I think of what they've done," Specs says calmly.

Smalls is clearly offended. "Why do we think that our hate's gonna break a hard heart? We're ripping arms over wars that don't need to be fought. Because pride won't let us lay our weapons on the ground, we build our bridges up but it's just to burn them down. We think our pain is own apologies and get them to stop. Well, truth be told it doesn't matter if their sorry or not because freedom comes when we surrender to the sound."

Specs is at his boundaries, the nuns had kept him alive, and he felt okay to say what he felt. He was sure off it.

"Oh Father won't you forgive them? They don't know what they've been doing'. Oh Father, give me grace to forgive them; 'Cause I feel like the one losing', I feel like I've been losing." The thought fades into my memory when Ike kisses me lightly on the forehead. I forced a smile for the rest of the day, trying to get rid of the conversation. Bur it lingers still, in the corners of my mind.


	17. Chapter 17: The Newest Headline

Yesterday didn't go at all of what I planned. I planned I woke up, Ike and I went to the lodging house, told everyone I was going to have a baby, then leave. It was only better, so here is how yesterday became one of the days I knew could take a thousand years to forget:

I woke up freezing; the ceiling fan was on all night. Ike must have been too hot anyways and he wasn't thinking when he kicked the covers off. I woke up that way, I'd have to thank him though, and Star didn't have to yell or wait for me to get up.

"We have to go to the Lodging House later," she said when she came into my apartment.

"Davey and Sketch have some more big news, and we know it can't be good." She jokes. "So, what motivated you to get up this morning, it was freezing in the lodging house. Stupid boys, except for Blink…" she trails off. I tell her my story as we pick up Lucy and head to Harbor. We always seem to swing by the east side of the harbor first, I guess what once you have sold there for eight years, and you know when the fish bite. I set Lucy down as she grabs my hand and Star runs behind us with the papes. Lucy then goes a few feet ahead of us and starts screaming her head off.

"Help me to live." She screams. It is hilarious, because she keeps pointing to the stack of papes beside her with a cardboard sign saying two cents. She is a natural seller, and a bit of a con woman. We smile as walk into the crowd, not wanting to disrupt her. She sold fifteen papes in two seconds. That is probably the fastest she has ever done. _She must have had a good night's sleep,_ I think as I groggily rub my eyes. We sell the rest on the dock; we got over a dollar today when we should have gotten only seventy cents. Star and I split it up while we walk to the Lodging house with Ike. He mouths if we want to make our announcement too. I nod only slightly as Star is watching Lucy hug Ike's leg. She only reaches his knee and it's really adorable. I try to give Lucy her share in front of Ike when I give him my money. Lucy sees me and does the same. I squat down as I tell her why I gave my money to him.

"Just keep five cents, you can save it or spend it on a cookie or something. Save it for shopping or ice cream." I say. Her eyes light up at the word ice cream. In a moment's notice, we are getting ice cream from a cart. Only three cents, not good, but not bad either. We all walk to the Lodging house, hearing cat calls from Race only blocks away. We tell the Landlady our news, not to let Lucy know while we make the announcement to the newsies, we planned to tell her at home, not caring how much she hated it. We had to face it, the baby was coming. I quietly tell Sketch our news and she whispers giddily. Two births, so close together. This will be good, Lucy is only three, I think, she will always be daddy's little girl. Ike and I wanted to try for his boy again. She tells Davey as we walk to the other side of the room. We all gather around as they get on a table. Sketch looks so happy while Davey opens his mouth.

""Everybody, as you may all know, Davey and I are very open and lovey dovey." Race cat-called and Sketch rolled her eyes. Laughter erupts from the boy's side. "You'se also may recall that we both already have had a kid. We have wanted more, and up until recently our wishes have been granted.

"Yup, I am pregnant again! We still don't know the gender, but we are hoping it's a girl..." Sketch trails off, when she realizes what she said, she and Davey start blushing a deep scarlet as everyone cheers. The last thing she does before she jumps off the table is motion Ike and I get up. _Here we go,_ I thought. Time seems to be frozen as Ike leads me to the table. He must know this because he turns around and looks at me, frozen in my tracks. I snap back to reality and catch up to him, still thinking of what everyone would think, Happiness for us or pure betrayal; Race will defiantly think of some new cat-calls. Ike helps me up to the table while the newsies are getting silent again. I stare at everyone a few seconds, and then feel a tugging on my skirt, its Lucy.

"I'm sorry," the landlady mouths, near tears.

"It is fine," I mouth back. This calms her down some but she is still upset. She wanted to follow what we said perfectly. I pull Lucy up into my arms. Ike crooks his eyebrow at me and I smile. Everyone can see what is happening. I pick up Lucy as Ike begins.

"Three years ago, we had our little Lucy." He says. "We love her so much and we wanted another child that happened." He looks at me for approval before he goes on. _No way can I finish this,_ I think_. I want to run; I will run if I wasn't holding Lucy, good thing I was. I wear a worried look at my face. Sketch and Davey did it easily. I've done too; this doesn't make me feel better. _Ike continues his speech with Stefanzo before I break in. I couldn't bear to hear anymore. This is it, I think. _I have to run, my baby needs me._ My motions are quick as I put Lucy down and get off the table. I hear a muffled cat call from Race as I exit the Lodging house. Ike sees this and motions Sketch, Davey, Star and Butta Fingas to not to follow me. Davey sit tight as Ike chases after me. Oh yea, I forgot, Ike can run faster than me. Lucy is asking questions the landlady can't answer. I think about these things as I have time a bit of time to think of where to go_. I really want to go to Stefazno's grave, but I know that is where Ike will look first. I feel bad about tricking him, but it was way too much. The apartment, no, that is the second place, but I could lock the doors from the inside. No, Ike has a key. The harbor, no, I can't go back there when I'm there. I always lose my train of thought when I'm at the harbor with thoughts circling around my head. _I finally decide on the apartment. I race in, go to the bedroom and lock myself in. I drape the curtain over the window and cry over everything today.


	18. Chapter 18: Problems and Solutions

"Can we at least talk about this?" Ike asks as he knocks on the door. I stopped crying enough to hear him. I pull the covers over my head and don't come out after I hear a scuffling on the floor an hour later. I see Ike slipped a note under the door. I have the nerve to walk over and pick it up.

_Hype, I am so sorry if I said something at the lodging house that made you feel this way. Lucy is taking a nap right now and I am kind of tired of singing. But on a more serious note, we have to talk about this. I know, I miss my baby too, but we need to get through this. I promise we can. _

_~Ike. _

I read it once as it rises furry in me. He is right; we do have to talk about it, but not now, maybe after a few more months. I rip up the note and get a pencil and piece of paper, just the right size for what I want to write.

_Ike, I can't believe you. Does time really heal all wounds? I know it's been almost maybe, six months? I know, it's a long time for you but it still hurts so much for me. I really wish it didn't hurt like this but it does. but I think that the older I get maybe I'll get over it; It's been way too long for the times we missed, I can't believe it still hurts like this. Just think about it. _

_~Hype. _

I slip the door and walk toward the bed reassembling the note I tore into small pieces. It took me a few minutes. I finally give up, put it in an envelope and put the date, reason and who wrote it, Ike obviously. I hear the door close and look out the window. I see Ike meet with Butta Fingas and Mike. I see the warmth of Butta Fingas' cheeks as she is holding hands with Mike. I close the curtain and walk toward the bed when I see Ike point toward the bedroom. I was sure they couldn't see me. Ike invites them in and the brothers sit at the table. Immediately Butta Fingas asks to come in the bedroom. I have to think about this for a second. I need someone, I convince myself as I carefully unlock the door. Butta Fingas embraces me as I let her in I lock the door again. She sits on the stool she found in our closet. I sit at the end of my bed, gazing down at the floor.

"Hype," she whispers, "Feeling down or blue is a natural part of life. When people let us down, things go wrong, or we lose people we love, or the dreams we've valued, it appears_." _ I nod my head slowly but I still didn't look up. She walks over and sits next to me.

"What's on your left hand?" She asks, "More precisely, your ring finger, what is different about it now" she emphasizes the word ring. I hold up my hand as my answer. I feel the remaining tears fall as I look at the ring. It didn't look any different. I didn't see her point and sigh.

"Well," she starts off. "Nothing is physically different, but the meaning was still the same." She walks into my closet and takes a picture and brings it out to me. It was the most romantic wedding picture Ike and I had, it was the kiss at sunset. _We still have to hang it up,_ I thought, a bit more cheerfully. I put it on my nightstand as we hear a small conversation from the kitchen. The debate I had in my head the day before wasn't Smalls and Specs. It was between Ike and I, and I didn't want to admit it. Butta Fingas and I cleaned out my closet as we talked about my hasty exit from the lodging house.

"One word: fear" Butta Fingas said. "You have been really scarred about a lot of things, and it's not your fault."

"No, it was Ike talking about Stefanzo." I say quietly. "I couldn't take it. It was too much, even though it was almost six months ago. It still hurts really badly." Butta Fingas nods in agreement as she tries to think of things to say to me.

"Well," she finally says, "You can embrace it, or run away from it. Your choice," she says the last part a bit louder for emphasis.

"I want to run," I say. She must know this from earlier. She frowns at me as she thinks of a better alternative, she has one. She lets out a sigh as she says the next thing.

"Then run, no one is stopping you," she says. She folds her hands and looks to the floor.

"I could never get far without Ike," I say. This was the only thing I said tonight that I meant. Butta Fingas and Mike leave too soon. Butta Fingas wanted Lucy to come to their apartment for tonight, just in case things go bad. I point to the nursery, not leaving the bedroom. I hear the door close and freeze as I hear Ike's voice. I couldn't lock the door even if I wanted too, he was right behind me.

"We have to figure this out," he says.

"No, I don't want too." I pouted, crossing my arms, not even caring to turn around.

"Please?" he coaxes. "Lucy is at Mike's so it's safe to talk about it."

"No," I say sternly. He comes over and drapes his arms around me and kisses my cheek. It eases some tension, but not all. I am still hurting because of what he said at the Lodging house, even though it wasn't much.

"What did I do to hurt you?" he asks. I turn around slowly; a look of frustration is in my eyes.

"I just wanted to know," he protested. "I really didn't mean to hurt you, is it because of what I said about Stefanzo?" he asks clueless. I make a rude remark under my breath and he heard it as I made my way to my side of the bed.

"At least I am trying to define half the problem." He says.

"My guess is that the problem is me." I say accusingly, Ike takes a step back. He knows I've been hostile ever since he came in the room. Thinking about this makes my aggregation level at him sky high for the day, me being the problem; we finally agree to go to bed if we talk about it in the morning; it takes him a lot of coaxing though. Tonight, no amount of kisses could change my mind. Ike sits next to me on the bed and starts kissing me like Oscar would. Hard and forceful, it would have been better to be hung.


	19. Chapter 19: That Week

"I hate you," I say quietly, not knowing Ike was awake.

"What?" he asks, I look at him, he gave the appearance he was sleeping, and I gasp silently.

"Nothing, just thinking out loud," I said.

"I know what you said anyways." He says fully awake. He eases himself off the bed and I see the bruise on his leg and arm, surprised he hasn't left yet for the dock. I kicked him a lot last night because he was snoring every minute. He didn't think that he was snoring, of course he didn't. We were in our first fight. He rubs his hands through his hair while he goes to the closet and gets his favorite shirt. He comes out fully dressed while I make breakfast. We eat slowly trying to avoid the awkward tension in the room. Ike finishes eating and wipes his mouth.

"One week," he says. "I will work for one week. I will be home late and wake up early, so there is a chance you won't see me. I will take care of Lucy... I'm not going to say anything; I will just let you think this through." I nod my head slowly, so happy it wasn't a month. I slowly nod my head as he walks out the door with my little girl.

"Starting now," he says. I think Lucy waved to me, not knowing what was happening. I start to cry.

"He is leaving you?" Star asked on our way to the harbor, "That is so sad and little Lucy…"

"Star," I said "He will still be with me; it's just because of what happened at the lodging house. But he won't acknowledge me in any flirtatious way. I'm just kind of glad I get to think, but he won't be talking to me, I don't think." I cast my eyes down at the dock. Only Ike and I knew how to get down there without a boat, it's his private place to think. _Not thinking about it, I forbid it,_ I think as I tell Star about the week of pain city, throw up daily, and get cramps, rise and repeat. Only this time, Ike wouldn't be there for it, this week anyways. I remember the first time we went under the dock. We both got soaked, but the water was warm and we both didn't care. We were together. It was when we first started dating. Sometimes I came when Ike was out of town or busy. He knows this is somewhat my finding place for the rest of the world. I remembered the first time he kissed me under the dock we still had a clear view of the sunset. We walk to the park to see Butta Fingas and Ike in their cherry tree. I walk around it a few times before I realize they carved their initials in it. They are somewhat like Sketch and Davey, but Star and Blink is the most like everyone else. They do boat rides and other stuff, like the newsies do, at least she still has her sanity, some newsies, not so much.

The next few days drag by years. Ike doesn't even talk to me; he goes to Lucy's room to sing to her. I don't see why, she has been out all day; she was surely asleep when she came home. I think Ike goes to the bar a few times before coming home. There isn't much to do but think. Think about everything. I think about my newest O'Malley. Hadn't thought about him/her in a while, depression I guess. I can't believe it's already been six months. I'm always asleep by the time Ike gets back, and then he wakes up and goes to the harbor so early. He doesn't really acknowledge me at the harbor, but when he sees me, he tips his hat. I have to hold Star back, but she is running to her. She is running to Lucy, Ike, I guess has forgotten she is mine too. When I'm almost asleep under the covers, I always remember or think of the most random things_. Not tonight, _I thought about what I would say to Ike when the week was over. I wanted it to be an apology, but I know he is still hurting from Stefanzo, but my newest O'Malley is coming quickly. I memorize what I had so far. It wasn't that much, but it was a good start, something nice to think about rather than having a bunch of memories in my head.

_When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you. When you're gone, the face I came to know is missing too. When you're gone the words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it okay. I missed you so much. _

The thoughts were interrupted when I heard the door open. I quickly pull the covers over my head and close my eyes, not caring if I was freezing. In seconds I hear Lucy crying again, Ike mutters something under his breath and goes to her room. Minutes later, I see Ike rubbing his face in the bathroom and silently thank whoever invented mirrors, he looks drunk. I can only imagine what he did with Lucy, probably gave my kid a beer. Wouldn't be one bit surprised, I was just happy he didn't dangle her on a tree branch. Only God knows what you are thinking when you are drunk. I can hear a pen writing a few seconds later in the kitchen. Ike suddenly collapses on the bed with a giant thud within seconds. In a few minutes, I am next to Lucy. She looked so tired and most likely, Ike is taking her to work tomorrow, again. I walk into the kitchen and see Ike left a note.

_I can't take it anymore; I need to talk to you. Star said she would come over to take care of Lucy tomorrow. I don't care if the week isn't over; I need to tell you a lot of things concerning the new baby. Trust me; it's been hard for me too. I just really need to talk to you. See you at our place in the harbor at dawn. _

_~Ike_

I suddenly fell asleep in the living room, and I promise, Ike didn't care, at least, not yet, he was flat out drunk. He didn't care right now, he was hurting and so was I. The only good thing tonight was I didn't have to listen to him snore.


	20. Chapter 20:Confessions

I walk slowly to the harbor as the sun rises. I see the broad streaks of daylight glisten over the water, it tumble over the rocks, slow and steady. I see Ike already in our spot; he skips rocks over the water. He said he did this regularly when he was little. They skip five times before they sink; the ripples fade out when I approach him. He casts another rock into the water, not looking at me.

"Hi," I say shyly, he looks at me using his puppy face, and grins. He kisses me, it wasn't expected, but it was long overdue. We held it for many minutes as the sun was over the horizon.

"I missed you," he says when we pull apart. He looks into my eyes and I know what he is thinking. He knows I'm thinking the same thing: _We were made for each other, out here forever. I know we were all I ever wanted was for you to know. Everything I do, I give my heart and soul, I can hardly breathe, and I need to feel you here with me._

"About what happened at the lodging house," he starts. I slowly break my gaze and we sit down near a rock before he finishes.

"I am okay now." I say. "I really miss Stefanzo but, that shouldn't stop us from visiting him." Ike knows we haven't visited his grave for weeks; he thinks this as he takes his hand and rubs it through his hair several times as he is thinking,

"I want you to know that this week, I've been thinking about him too." He starts "I've also thought about the future." I start whimpering as he goes on; he must hear this because he takes a small box out from behind a rock. Chocolate covered strawberries; there are at least ten of them. He sees my eyes light up as he opens them and puts one in my mouth. They are perfectly juicy and sweet. I continue as he eats a strawberry himself.

"Anyways, what you said wasn't that bad actually; I just realized it wasn't long ago." I say smiling. He pops another strawberry into my mouth and kisses my forehead.

"I understand there was a lot going through my mind too." He says.

"It's not like it was a bad thing, it was just, personal." I say slowly. "It's not like it was super private though," He smiles as I say this. _At least we are talking now,_ I think. I wince as the baby kicks hard. Ike sees this and rubs my stomach, talking to it.

"Don't hurt your mom; she's going through a lot already." He whispers, he directs his attention to me again. I steal a strawberry from the box and playfully shove it in his mouth. He swallows it whole as I dangle another over him.

"Mr. O'Malley, you are my cutest little puppy ever," I say. He gives a little jump to try to reach the berry. He finally gives up and gives me his puppy dog face. He is like and electric Chihuahua sometimes, I promise. I give in and finally give him the berry; he bites it in a way the berry explodes on his face.

"Anyways, now we have that figured out," he says. Taking the rest of the berry from me and sticks the rest in his mouth.

"Oh boy, what's next?" I say playfully. I know this can't be good.

""I'm sorry I drugged you like a cat last night," he says sheepishly.

"What?" I scream, he shoves another strawberry in my mouth, I chew it angrily while Ike looks at my waist and this really got me upset, I cross my arms and give my best fake cry. I didn't want to ruin the moment because I know what he said was true, so I remember something I did earlier that day.

"It's okay, I'm sorry I went to the bar and had a drink today," I say with fake tears streaming down my face. This makes Ike really mad, because that's how I lost Stefanzo. He clenches his fist and sends a quick prayer to the heavens. He looks back at me and you can tell he is really hurt, but he knows I know better. When I see this, I burst out laughing as Ike gives me a quizzical look. We were both emotional unstable right now it was really funny.

"It was actually to the store to get grape juice for Lucy; you Mr. O'Malley cannot tell my real cry from a fake one either." I say.

"Wait, what?" he asks. I can't seem to stop laughing, not even caring what he did to me last night. I was in way to much pain for my laughter to overcome; I didn't let the pain show. I had a clue on account of how much I couldn't move too much, and it was more than just being lazy. After a brief second, realization kicks in; Ike unclenches his fists and starts laughing too.

"So, how many times have I fell for your fake cry?" he asks.

"Only this time, I promise" I say, I lean in to kiss him, but he drops another strawberry into my mouth; as he wraps up the rest for after we are in bed.

"Let's go tell the newsies we will have a baby," he says.

He finally kisses me, then he picks me up bridal style and we walk to the lodging house, together.


	21. Chapter 21: Fine Fluff

The newsies are all chattering as Ike calls them to attention. No one says anything about the last time we were on the table. Ike makes sure I won't run away this time because he hugs me by the waist. Race makes a muffled cat call that make me look at him in confusion. I look up at Ike for several seconds before we begin. He starts off like last time.

"Three years ago, we had our little Lucy." He says. "We love her so much and we wanted another child that happened. It didn't go as we planned, but we still turned out fine." He looks down at me and kisses my forehead. You can hear Race gag on account of holding the kiss.

"Anyways, a few months ago, we still wanted another bundle of joy and we hope it will be successful-"he continues.

I cut him of happily, "Yes, that's right, I'm pregnant again." The newsies are so happy for me. Ike is on the ground now, waiting for me to jumps in his arms bridal style.

"Even the seasons change our love still stays the same," Ike whispers in my ear as he puts me down. I pull him close to whisper something and he turns scarlet. He knows it's true after a week of not talking to each other. Pulls me close one last time at the lodging house and kisses me on the cheek. We walk outside of the Lodging house as Ike whispers his horrid week.

"When you're gone, the pieces of my heart are missing you. The face I came to know is missing too. The words I need to hear to always get me through the day and make it okay, I really missed you." He says. It makes me blush.

That night in bed, we finish eating all the strawberries. We have been through so much today, selling the newsies I was pregnant, selling my papers with Star, and seeing Ike at the dock. Don't even get me started on how many kisses I've had. After dinner I walked into the bedroom, Ike decided to sleep…that way. I put on my nightgown and throw a shirt at him. As soon as I turn around, he throws it at my face.

"It's too hot," he complains, even through the ceiling fan was on. He kicks the covers of his side of the bed. He flops on his back, revealing long sunburn running down his back.

"I don't want you to get cold," I say, picking them up, I don't see it until I turn around. His argument was too good for mine.

"You aren't hot; you're hurting because of your sunburn." I say.

"Can you fix it? I don't want to keep you and the baby up if I cry in pain," he says.

"Yes, I can fix it," I say. "I am going to put Lucy down for the night. Then I can fix your pain." Ike groans in pain, he then goes into the bathroom as I put Lucy down for the night.

"You're a good girl, don't let daddy poison your mind," I laugh when I know she is asleep. I kiss her forehead. _Where I find an Aloe Vera, I think. Because I know it will help instantly. Thanks dad. I see of the potted one on the window seal in Lucy's room_, I think. It isn't that big, but I slash one of the leaves off._ It'll grow back,_ I think. I walk into the bathroom and cut open the leaf. I apply the leaf on his back with some ice. Ike sighs in relief as this happens and finally agrees to wear something to bed. I walk out of the bedroom to get a glass of water. I set it down and pick up a long awaited book. Ike comes out fully dressed.

"Better," he questions, "hope you're happy, because now I feel like my shirt will rub against it."

"Just wear your cotton shirts and apply the aloe," I smile at him. We lay in bed while Ike twirls his fingers through my hair, it feels good all over. He dangles another strawberry over my mouth, it takes me several tries to get it, but the baby is coming, growing and changing, every single day. Ike leans down and kisses me on the forehead. He pops a strawberry in his mouth and gently picks out the leaves. I make a silly gag face.

"What? You're not even supposed to eat the leaves." He says.

"Oh, I know, it's just that I realized these strawberries are wild," I say, can't think of what to say next. I keep laughing as Ike blows out the light, signaling for me to go to sleep. I immediately snuggle up to him, breathing in his sent. He kisses me real fast and starts talking to my belly, the same way we did with Lucy that one time.

"Hey my little O'Malley," he says gently while rubbing his fingers over my stomach. "You may not know this, but Blink loves you, Star loves you, Sketch and Davey love you," his voice gets quieter every time he says a name, the last are barely audible. "Butta Fingas and Mike love you, Smalls and Twig love you, and, most importantly, mommy and I love you." I fall instantly into a dreamless sleep because after that, he just had to sing like he does to Lucy.


	22. Chapter 22: Spying

I had no idea what was happening, it just kind of did. I was with Sketch, Butta Fingas, Star and Smalls. Sketch brought Davey, of course. So I brought Ike, I think I just did it because there is no limit to what the Delancys can do, especially when you're pregnant. Anyways, we all decided to have a day where we could do whatever we wanted. Sketch points out something on the way home from the bar up ahead. I pulled Ike close to me as Oscar looks over at us. Then, we all witnessed a miracle, he had kissed a girl. Star and Smalls cringe at the sight as we all run from his sights. For fear of hurting us if we told what we saw. We had to hide; there was nothing we really could do. The thought of Oscar kissing a girl almost made me puke, but it happened. Star, Smalls and Butta Fingas decide to go home after an hour of hiding, they send a small signal that only other newsies could understand, sometimes, we don't understand it. Oscar doesn't think we are watching, but we are like hawks. I see them, Sketch and Davey watching from the other side of the road. Sometimes women can do better research than the FBI. Then, there is Ike and Davey.

"I love you Lavender," Oscar says. She is beautiful, really. She looks kind of like Sketch in a way; just change her hair color to a light auburn. They even have the same blue-green eyes. I have to tell her about this later, maybe she and Davey already noticed.

"I think he is trying to replace her," I tell Ike. He nods in agreement as he looks at where Sketch and Davey are hiding, and then back at Lavender.

"I'm scared," she replies in a quiet tone, barely audible, looking into his eyes.

The whole scene almost makes both me and my baby puke. Ike and I see him pull her close, very close. He kisses her on the neck while she holds him tight. _I wonder if he raped her, no, that can't be it, there are a lot of things to be scarred about, _I think.

"Don't do that to me," she whines, loosening her grip. "I am still sore from last night."

"Then I guess we hit it off pretty well," Oscar smirks. Ike and I see her pause for a long time, thinking about his remark. She finally gives up and kisses Oscar, this makes them both blush. She intended it to be a peck on the cheek, gut he holds it for as long as he can. In a twisted turn of events, she tries to slap him; I guess it was for holding the kiss for too long.

"Lavender Jean Trumbley, what has gotten into you?" he asks. I can see she hates him in her eyes. Well, she doesn't hate him; you can tell she doesn't like the situation. She doesn't say it; you never tell a Delancy you don't like what they are doing.

"Apparently you, we are getting serious way to fast. Can't we just take it slow?" she pleads. I can see Oscar grimace as he takes his hands off her hips.

"Fine, only then we can get serious." He says with a guilty smile. I see him starring at her waist a lot. She gets really red in the face, not knowing Oscar was just teasing her, and anyone with a brain could know that. Ike finally helps me up from behind our little spot behind the flower cart. The last thing we hear from Oscar was:

"Alleyway, same time, same place." His voice echoes. I see her give a slight nod as he walks off. Ike hugs me, mostly because the baby almost made me puke.

"You know I would ever push you, right?" Ike whispers. I nod my head real fast. He picks me up bridal style and spins me around until we get to the Lodging house, the landlady must be going crazy to take care of Lucy when she isn't selling with us. Ike drops me before we get to her door and she opens it up cheerfully. We great fully take Lucy back as we hear a sound not far away. Apparently, Oscar has Lavender all up on him. He has her on his lap, it's disgusting. For some reason, it reminds me of Sketch and Davey, you have to pry them off each other now. Wondered if it was the whiskey, but Davey stopped drinking for who knows how long. I realize Ike doesn't see this, and I am thrilled, Lucy doesn't see it either as I urge him to catch up with me.

"Running with a child can slow you down." Ike says. I glare back at him, then he makes a puppy dog face. Today, we learned Lucy can say everything we could, she just has trouble pronouncing some. Ike begins singing to Lucy as we all get ready for bed.

"Hush, little Lucy don't you cry…." He starts off. I lean my body against the frame of the door as he sings the next part.

"Ike, we'd have to be rich to afford all of that" I cut in, Lucy starts giggling. She starts curling up in a little ball and pulls the covers over her head.

"We can talk about it later," he says as he is kisses Lucy asleep. I change into my nightgown as Ike comes in. He points to the bathroom and I know what is happening, he is so crazy sometimes. I guess he got ideas from Oscar, I feel bad for Lavender though, but I can tell they both love each other deeply. I finally give up my thought and walk into the bathroom, not expecting how long we will be there.


	23. Chapter 23: Trying

"Hype," Star calls out, "Where are you?" My eyes sprang open and I realize I remember nothing last night. I rub my eyes groggily as I lean my head on Ike's chest. My guess is that we did something unspeakable last night. There is no doubt about it that I woke up next to him in our bathtub. I feel good though, I can hear his heartbeat, but I think Ike drugged me like a cat, if you know what I mean.

"Hype," she calls out again, "Where are you?" she repeats. Ike and I get up slowly to avoid making too much noise. He quickly locks the door to the bathroom and looks at me with a guilty grin. We freeze as we hear her in our room now, she yells for me again, in frustration she gives up. I hear her go into Lucy's room.

"Hype, I know you are here, Lucy is." She says. Ike and I instantly freeze, she will freak out if she saw us together in the bathroom.

"I am almost ready, hold on." I say. You can hear her groan and mutter something under her breath.

"Lucy's crying, I'm going to take care of her, and you better be ready." She says, making loud noises to signal going to Lucy's room. We sigh in relief as he unlocks the door. I quickly run to the bedroom door and lock it. Ike throws my cloths at me as I run back into the bathroom to change. I quickly unlock the door as Ike pulls on his pants and heads to the bathroom. Thankfully, Star comes in to the bedroom to see me rub Aloe Vera on Ike's sunburn. It looks better, but Star is more concerned why I didn't answer her first call.

"I gave Lucy her breakfast and came back. Why was the bathroom door locked?" she asks. Ike doesn't say anything. I glance at his face in the mirror; he shows he had done a great effort last night. I'm kind of sore, but I think I got used to it. I can't think of an explanation anyhow, she sees my night gown on the floor.

"I know it was locked, I could hear it," she says with a shrill tone. I just shrug as Ike kisses me and goes to put on a shirt. We put Lucy in her stroller as we walk to the harbor. Star runs around selling papes more than usual so we could go to the park later. I feel bad when she hands me my share because it feels like I didn't do my part.

"It's not like it was a bad thing," I say quietly, "It was just love."

"I know what love is, Hype, but my question is why? I mean, you're going to have a baby in less than three months anyways." She tries to keep her cool because when I had Lucy, I had the worst mood swings ever. We walk in silence as we pass Sketch and Davey's mulberry tree. Pass the fountain and pass Butta Fingas and Mike's cherry tree.

"I don't know why," I say finally, "I guess that he just really wants his baby boy."

"I know you made a promise to him for that, but what if you never have a boy?" she asks with concern.

"It's a fifty-fifty shot, but if he is willing to try, so am I." I say. I promise nothing in the world can change my mind. Ever.


	24. Chapter 24: Change

I trudge up to the grave as Ike holds Lucy. My hands are trembling as I see his grave. I see the bundle of asphodel in my hands and start to cry. I remember what sketch said earlier before Ike and I walked up to the grave.

"Are you sure you want to put that on Stefanzo's grave? They mean 'my regrets follow to the grave.' I mean, you should get these." Sketch points out a lovely bouquet of pink carnations. "They mean a mother's love; it means 'I will never forget you and you are always on my mind. Wow, I know way too much about flowers." She laughs.

I bring back my attention to the headstone looming in front of me.

_Stefanzo Roman O'Malley_

_"Love you baby"_

We didn't put the date on the headstone because we all knew it was something we would never forget. I kneel down gently and whisper to the ground.

"I never wanted to replace you," I say as I lay down the bouquet. This is the first time in months Ike, Lucy and I have been up to see him. I am still really emotional as a fifteen year old can be, but life happens. Ike, then Lucy silently whispers, well Lucy didn't whisper but that's okay. We have been through so much already. Davey is eighteen and has a kid and started drinking, thankfully he stopped. Sketch got brushed by Oscar three years ago when she was fourteen. My brother is three years older than me and he is filthy rich. Butta Fingas is two years older than me and is newly married. All of this throws my mind as when I am slapped by reality, Ike and Lucy start down for the hill.

"So how was your date?" I ask Star. It's becoming a regular question I guess.

"Doesn't matter," Star says. "Did you hear that Lavender cheated on Oscar for his brother?"

"No," I nearly yell. I get up and rub my face. I am laughing so hard, I sit down and try to drink my lemonade and it ends up coming out my nose from laughing to hard.

"How do you think it happened?" I asked Star. She giggles as we bounce theories off the wall of my kitchen.

"Maybe they had too much alleyway time," blushes Star. I almost choke after I take another sip as Ike comes in.

"What's so funny?" he asks. He eyes me like a hawk. He also wears a silly grin as if to say I can wait for tonight.

"Nothing," I say mischievously. He goes to check on Lucy as I keep laughing about our many theories of how Osvender ended and how Morvender started. Star and I almost gag as we think about if they both got her pregnant and how. I hug her goodbye as I go check Ike's Sunburn. It is way better than it was a few days ago, but he says he feels as hot as the Sahara. I guess we need celling fan that's more efficient or else he will have excuses to sleep….that way. I cringe at the thought, but got over it soon because that is how Lucy, Stefanzo and my newest little O'Malley came to be.


	25. Chapter 25: Here We Go Again

"What the-?" I gasp, Ike is covered in water and I know what that means, he got soaked. I look at him and he just shrugs his shoulders. He laughs as he kisses my nose.

"Hey Lucy," I whisper.

"Mama," she calls out, reaching out to me.

"I left you something at home," he whispers as he pulls me close, trying not to crush Lucy. I smile at him as I hug him and Lucy, telling him I'm heading home. I hand him my money for the day, a one dollar bill. I walk with my back against the sunset as I blush like no tomorrow. I open the door as I come home to a card on the table. It has a little Pelican drawn on it. _Sketch,_ I think instantly and smile. I flip it open.

_Sugar is sweet and so is honey  
I made you this card because I had no money._

_Love you, Ike._

_(P.S. Sketch drew the Pelican, so technically we made this card.)_

I close the card and smile. I prepare a really quick dinner because I felt awful today. _I just want to take a hot bath, then crawl under the covers and cry,_ I think each time I double over in pain. Ike comes home an hour later as I put Lucy down for the night after I fed her. Do not feed a child when they are mad, learned that several times, I think I just forgot tonight. I place Ike's dinner on the table, he comes to the table and I embrace him with a hug, he slowly pulls away and starts talking to my belly before he eats.

"We can wait for you," he says while smiling at my stomach.

"I threw up a lot today," I whisper quietly, he looks up at me with a look of sorrow. "I know for a fact the baby may come tonight or tomorrow." I continue Ike smiles at me and he rubs my bump.

"I haven't been this excited until I found out you were pregnant with Stefanzo," he gushes. I smile at him, as he gets up from the table.

"What are we going to name him/her?" I ask. Ike makes a baby dinosaur noise as he rubs his hands through his hair.

"If it's a boy, Cole Maxwell O'Malley; if it's a girl, Clara Grace O'Malley." He smiles, "Any thoughts?"

"No, I'm fine with either one," I reply happily. Ike goes to take a quick bath and after that, he wants me to apply the Aloe. It looks way better, in fact, it hasn't peeled. It's been healing perfectly. I sigh happily as I hug him from behind. Though the bump has made it a bit hard for him to get close to me, except when I'm not looking. He walks over my side of the bed and picks up our perfect wedding picture, our silhouettes kissing on the beach exactly as the sun set.

"We need to get this framed," he smiles as I come out of the bathroom.

"Just thinking about…" He says slowly, I look down at my hands and blush a lot.

We crawl into the long awaited bed as I double over in pain for the eighth time today. Ike doesn't notice, at least I think. I lay my head on his chest, rubbing the soft material.

"We are getting our baby, Ike," I say whisper happily. "It just may come tonight."

"We will see Mrs. O'Malley," he says gently as he stokes my hair, we fall asleep instantly.


End file.
